Senegal Population: 14,320,055

The French colonies of Senegal and French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never implemented, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff with Macky SALL, whose term runs until 2019. A 2016 constitutional referendum reduced the term to five years with a maximum of two consecutive terms for future presidents.

conventional long form: Republic of Senegal conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal former: Senegambia (along with The Gambia), Mali Federation etymology: named for the Senegal River that forms the northern border of the country; many theories exist for the origin of the river name; perhaps the most widely cited derives the name from "Azenegue," the Portuguese appellation for the Berber Zenaga people who lived north of the river

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held on 26 February 2012 with a runoff on 25 March 2012 (next to be held in 2019); prime minister appointed by the president

description: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (150 seats; 90 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 60 directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections: National Assembly - last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held in 2017)

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of the president and 12 judges and organized into civil and commercial, criminal, administrative, and social chambers); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionelle (consists of 5 members including the court president, vice-president, and 3 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges' appointed by the president of the republic upon recommendation of the Higher Council of the Judiciary, a body chaired by the president; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Council members appointed by the president to serve 6-year terms with the renewal of 2 members every 2 years

subordinate courts: High Court of Justice (for crime of high treason by the president); Courts of Appeal; Court of Auditors; assize courts (4); regional and district Courts, Labor Court

Political parties and leaders:

Alliance for the Republic-Yakaar or APR-Yakaar [Macky SALL] Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE] And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism or AJ/PADS [Mamadou DIOP] And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism or AJ/PADS-A [Landing SAVANE] Bokk Gis Gis coalition [Pape DIOP] Citizen Movement for National Reform or MCRN-Bes Du Nakk Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Mamadou NDOYE] Front for Socialism and Democracy/Benno Jubel or FSD/BJ [Cheikh Abdoulaye Bamba DIEYE] Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS] Grand Party or GP [Malick GACKOU] Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Magatte THIAM] Jef-Jel [Talla SYLLA] National Democratic Rally or RND [Madior DIOUF] Party for Truth and Development or PVD [Cheikh Ahmadou Kara MBAKE] People's Labor Party or PTP [El Hadji DIOUF] Reform Party or PR [Abdourahim AGNE] Republican Movement for Socialism and Democracy or MRSD Rewmi Party [Idrissa SECK] Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE] Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG] Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]

note: adopted 1960; lyrics written by Leopold Sedar SENGHOR, Senegal's first president; the anthem sometimes played incorporating the Koras (harp-like stringed instruments) and Balafons (types of xylophones) mentioned in the title

Senegal’s economy is driven by mining, construction, tourism, fisheries and agriculture, which is the primary source of employment in rural areas. The country's key export industries include phosphate mining, fertilizer production, agricultural products and commercial fishing and it is also working on oil exploration projects. Senegal relies heavily on donor assistance, remittances and foreign direct investment. For the first time in the past twelve years, Senegal reached a growth rate of 6.5% in 2015 due in part to a buoyant performance in agriculture because of higher rainfall and productivity in the sector. President Macky SALL, who was elected in March 2012 under a reformist policy agenda, inherited an economy with high energy costs, a challenging business environment, and a culture of overspending. President SALL unveiled an ambitious economic plan, the Emerging Senegal Plan (ESP), which aims to implement priority economic reforms and investment projects to increase economic growth while preserving macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. Bureaucratic bottlenecks and a challenging business climate are among the perennial challenges that may slow the implementation of this plan. Senegal is receiving technical support from the IMF from 2015-2017 under a Policy Support Instrument (PSI) to assist with implementation of the ESP. The PSI implementation continues to be satisfactory as concluded by the IMF’s second review mission in March 2016. Investors have signaled confidence in the country through Senegal’s successful Eurobond issuances in recent years, including in 2014. The government will focus on 19 projects under the ESP for the 2016 budget to continue the structural transformation of the economy. These 19 projects include the Thies-Touba Highway, including the new airport- Mbour-Thies Highway. Senegal will increase the national family allowances program and the community development emergency program in 2016. Electricity supply is a chief constraint for Senegal’s development. Electricity prices in Senegal are among the highest in the world. Power Africa, a program led by USAID and OPIC, plans to increase the current 500 mW of generating capacity to over 1,000 mW in the next three to five years. Recent gas discoveries on the Senegal-Mauritanian border, as well as just south of Dakar, will help alleviate some of the energy shortages.

general assessment: good system with microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system

domestic: above-average urban system with a fiber-optic network; about two-thirds of all fixed-line connections are in Dakar where a call-center industry is emerging; expansion of fixed-line services in rural areas needed; mobile-cellular service is expanding rapid

state-run Radiodiffusion Television Senegalaise (RTS) operates 2 TV stations; a few private TV subscription channels rebroadcast foreign channels without providing any local news or programs; RTS operates a national radio network and a number of regional (2007)